Drink-at-21 Bill Heads For House

TALLAHASSEE — A bill to raise Florida's legal drinking age from 19 to 21 was loaded with several controversial amendments Wednesday and passed by the House Appropriations Committee.

The bill (CS/HB 54) by Rep. Fran Carlton, D-Orlando, now goes to the House floor, where Carlton hopes to remove the amendments she said were requested by the Florida Entertainment and Dining Association.

Among the amendments is a clause that would ''grandfather'' people who now are as young as 17.

While the effective date of the bill would be Sept. 30, 1986, to comply with federal requirements, people at least 19 on that date would be able to drink legally.

Florida stands to lose about $81 million in federal highway money if it does not raise the drinking age to 21 by Oct. 1, 1986.

Carlton has agreed to grandfather in those who will be at least 19 on July 1 of this year.

She opposes keeping the lower age any longer than that.

That amendment and several others conform with provisions added to a similar Senate bill (SB 1) that is expected to be considered soon by the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Another amendment would let the state withhold a liquor license from private clubs that deny membership to people on the basis of sex, race, religion or national origin. Carlton views that amendment as excess baggage.

The third amendment would strike the higher drinking age if the courts find it unconstitutional for the federal government to tell states to adopt a 21- year drinking age or lose highway money.

Carlton gained one victory in the committee when members refused to roll the controversial amendments into a substitute bill. That means that each amendment must be considered separately on the House floor.

''These amendments would have been proposed on the floor anyway,'' Carlton said, ''so we're really no worse off than we were.''